US Intelligence Chief: Iraq & Syria May Be Finished As Countries
CIA Director: Countries have lost control of borders

12.09.2015


US Lt. General Vincent Stewart
Tags: Iraq | ISIL | ISIS | Kurds | Russia | Syria | US | Washington

WASHINGTON – A senior intelligence figures in the US have cast doubt on the viability of Iraq and Syria as nation states, as the war against Islamic State (IS) becomes more entrenched.


“I’m having a tough time seeing it come back together,” said Lt. General Vincent Stewart, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.


His sentiments were echoed by CIA chief John Brennan in the Associated Press report. He said that advance of IS throughout the region essentially meant that although the countries borders are likely to stay in place, they are compromised by the self-declared caliphate stretching across them.


He pinpointed ethnic division, dissatisfaction with central governments and sectarian tensions as factors in possible dissolution of the countries, alongside the intractable Kurdish question in the north of Syria especially.


Lt Gen. Vincent pointed out that the recent extra backing for Assad from Russia may help retake areas currently under IS control in Syria, although the role of the Kurds as the last competent allies in the region asks many questions as NATO member Turkey shows no sign of letting up in its conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, closely aligned with the Kurds fighting in Syria. https://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/09/12/us-intelligence-chief-iraq-syria-may-be-finished-as-countries/